How Do You Like Your 360?

Hey fellas. I'm still trying to get a working Windows download of Hotline, but for now I'm posting from work so it makes no difference anyway. :>

I'm finally considering buying another game console in the near future (within the next few months). However, I've been WAY out of touch with the console gaming community -- ever since my PS2 broke almost two years ago. Yeah, I'm still deciding whether a PS3 or a 360 is in the cards.

My gut is telling me to go with the XBOX 360, mainly because I know a few others who have it -- and I'm sure plenty of you guys also own them. Part of me is itching to play Rock Band again (I played it at New Year's over my brother's house when his friend brought it over), but I'm in no rush to dump a combined $600 or so on either console and the game package. ;)

How happy have you guys who own a 360 been with the purchase? I've heard some stories about the maturity level on XBOX LIVE (basically the same crap as in PC gaming, except people seem more likely to use microphones to portray it? :P), but how is the quality of the game library outside Halo 3 and ... uh, that's actually all I know about.

-- Craig

Comments

I think the quality of any 'social' gaming you do is dependent upon the people you play with...if you get out there and group up with friendly people you already know, or meet new people who share you style of gaming, it's absolutely great. If you just go out and play with random people, you're gonna get frustrated because there are tons of people out there whose main goal is to show how big an idiot they can be.

That being said, Xbox LIVE is the best tool for social gaming I've come across. The seemless integration of voice comm, friends lists, messaging and gaming is phenomenal. They make it very easy to get into a game with friends, and you can mute the idiots you don't want to hear. I've said it before, Microsoft really nailed this part of social gaming, everyone else is playing catch-up.

I hardly play any single-player games, so I can only speak to the mutliplayer side of things. Shooters dominate the titles, of course, with the Halos, all of the Clancy titles, Gears of War, the Call of Duties, etc etc. But they also have some good racers...the PGR series, the Burnout series, & Flatout: Ultimate Carnage. All of the sports titles are released for the 360, I know you were into the NHL games a while back. Someone else can speak more to the single player games out there, but Guitar Hero/Rockband, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Dead Rising & Crackdown all have/had very big followings. Last but not least, the Xbox LIVE arcade puts out some really good quality titles, and most of them also have multiplayer built-in.

The hardware problems are still an issue for some, although I got a new Xbox last fall and have had zero problems with it. My first Xbox I did have to send back for the red rings of death problem, but Microsoft fixed it under warranty (which is now three years for that). Best bet is to get the reseller's warranty package with it so that if you do have a problem, you can get it replaced immediately.

Just from our immediate Plaid/GfH community, you'd be stepping into at least a group of about two dozen active members of Xbox LIVE. Also, check out http://www.geezergamers.com ...there are a lot of cool people there as well.

So yeah, I'd recommend buying into the 360. You know where to reach me if you have any other questions.

I spoke with a random Best Buy drone in their warranty department regarding the Red Ring of Death before my roommate picked up his 360 in November. For a good while, they were seeing 1 in 3 extended warrantied 360s coming back with RROD. After the revision last fall, it dropped to 1 in 15. Telling us that wasn't in the best interests of selling us the warranty, but that's the wonder of non-commissioned sales.

He also figured that the numbers they saw didn't represent the actual average failure rates, due to the simple fact that folks with tendencies towards abusing their 360s with marathon gaming sessions were more likely to purchase an extended warranty and also more likely to have it brick from long term heat damage.

At this point, the extended instant-replace warranties aren't so much a necessity and are back down to the normal realm of gambling.

Thanks guys. I wound up buying a 360 almost two weeks ago. Right now the only games I have are Rock Band, NHL 08 and Lost Odyssey, but I'm figuring out what else I should get or look forward to besides Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.

I'm guessing Mass Effect and Halo 3 are must-haves? Is there still a good online population in Halo 3?

Thanks guys. I wound up buying a 360 almost two weeks ago. Right now the only games I have are Rock Band, NHL 08 and Lost Odyssey, but I'm figuring out what else I should get or look forward to besides Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.

If you're into the Clancy tactical shooters like Rainbow Six, Look for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW) 1 & 2. Great gameplay, especially if you do it coop. Gears of War can probably be found in the used bin at a nice discount. Again, great story, better with a coop partner. If you're into racers, check out Flatout:Ultimate Carnage & Burnout Paradise.

I know Amazon was running a special on NHL 08 today...maybe I'll pick it up and pit your devils against my Flyers :)

I'm guessing Mass Effect and Halo 3 are must-haves? Is there still a good online population in Halo 3?

Someone else can speak to Mass Effect better than I, but I can tell you you will not run out of friendly people to play with if you pick up Halo 3.

Another strong buy recommendation from me is Viva Pinata, but you might want to rent it first or try the demo to see if you like that sort of game. It's aimed at kids, but the gameplay is deep and engaging enough to keep any adult grinning. Ask Stern.

As far as Arcade games go, you can demo most of them before you put up the points. Some of my favorites are Rez HD, Catan, Geometry Wars, Pinball FX and a new Advance-Wars-like turn-based tactical game called Commanders: Attack of the Genos.

I was very disappointed by Halo 3, and I'm more disappointed that it seems like it's the only thing I ever see anyone on my friends list playing.

As far as your other questions go:

XBOX Live is a giant cesspit of maladroits. The only thing that makes it bearable is having people that I know already on my friends list. Another good source of quality gamers is the Gamers With Jobs website.

I'm quite happy with my XBOX 360 purchase. I have more than enough games to keep me happy. I've also used it for some HD movie rentals and TV shows (even though I know I can torrent all that stuff, even in a format that plays on xbox).

Thanks guys. I thought I responded to this already but I must be older than I thought. :P

I'm only just now getting into Halo 3 online and, as a person who's always played shooters online via PC (including Call of Duty 4), it's going to take quite a bit of getting used to. I'm going to check out the sites you've suggested as well since I'm only four games into Halo 3 and already I've muted about six people lol.

My gamertag is PunctuationMark. I made it up when I got my Zune because either someone else took "Griminald", or I took it on an email address I can no longer remember, and I figured I'd keep everything under the one Live ID.